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The drive to Cedar City was fairly uneventful. Despite the distraction I had caused him while getting ready to go, I could tell that Craig was pretty nervous about confronting The Dogs, even from behind mirrored glass. "It's not like they won't know who's accusing them," he had said.

There wasn't much I could say that eased his mind, but I did bring along a carefully selected set of CDs. He was quiet all the way out of town, so I decided I had made the right choice, and when I slipped the first disk in, he immediately perked up. The rest of the way, we chatted about music and sang along with our favorites. But he started to clam up again as we got to Cedar City. I found the station without much trouble, and followed Lieutenant Matchcomb's directions carefully, parking in the covered spaces behind the station, and going in the back door. The Raccoon was there waiting for us at the door, and took us straight to the viewing room. The whole thing didn't take more than five minutes. Of the seven dogs they had captured, Craig identified four of them. That left two that had assaulted him that were not in the lineup. Lieutenant Matchcomb thanked us, took another short deposition, and released us. The whole thing took no more than fifteen minutes, which made the long drive seem awfully wasteful.

I decided that needed to be changed. But not in town. As Craig got in the car, he saw me check on a cooler that I had slipped in to the back seat before we left.

"What's that," he inquired.

"So you finally spotted it! I thought foxes were natural hunters," I teased. "But you didn't even see this back here until I moved it."

"It's because I only have eyes for you," he leered at me. Good, he was already feeling better.

"Well, then, you don't need to know what's in the box, then."

"Oh, come on!" He howled in protest. "That's so not fair!" But his tail was thumping against the seat, clearly betraying his feigned irritation.

I decided for a feint. "It's a heart. Harper asked me to deliver it. She said there would be a transplant, and since I was on the way, decided I could bring it."

"Fine, don't tell me, then." Craig crossed his arms - slowly - and pretended to be snubbed.

"What, don't you believe me?"

"Not for a second. First, a heart only has so much time, so an ambulance would be a much better transport--"

"This is an economy surgery."

"Minotaur dung! And second, you would have gone to the hospital, first. And third, I don't smell blood."

"Well, since you can smell so well," I retorted as I pulled back on the highway, "You don't need me to tell you what it is."

"I see how you are," he complained.

"Yes, that is how I am. And you like it."

He made a huge sigh, then winced as it twinged his side. "I sup_pose_ I do, at that. But only because it means I can get your pants off."

"Ha! And that's all you're in it for, is it?"

"Yep."

"Well, then I'm definitely not telling you. Because you don't want it, anyway."

"Aw, man!"

I couldn't help but laugh, and turned on another song. Oh, good, it was "Inna Gadda Da Vida." That would take up just about the right amount of time. As the song finished, I was pulling off the highway at an exit seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

"What's this, now?" Craig asked.

"You are just full of questions tonight, aren't you?" I laughed. In a few more moments, I was pulling up in front of the Kolob Canyon Visitor Center, and pulling my annual pass out of the glove box. "I think I can trust you not to get into the cooler while I check in, since your ribs won't allow you to turn around, anyway? Or do I have to take that in with me?"

Craig sighed again, but his tail was wagging again. "I'll be good. This time."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

"Ok, then." I went inside and got a window decal for this visit. On my way back out, a ranger handed me the requisite maps and newsletters for every visitor to Zion National Park, most of which were completely irrelevant for someone accessing from this side of the park, anyway. I tossed them in Craig's lap as I got back in the car, and drove through the main gate, and up the road.

"That was quick," Craig observed.

"Tigers are special," I teased. "No one ever questions our right to use the parks."

"Ahuh. So who'd you promise to sleep with?" I laughed, and handed him my annual pass. He read the card thoroughly, front and back. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah. I come to Zion a lot, so it actually saves me money to get this. I keep thinking I should get a Golden Eagle pass now, but there just aren't enough sites of interest around Lincoln. Not like this." My statement was punctuated as we came around a curve, revealing the view ahead. Craig's mouth went to the shape of a silent 'O' and his eyes were wide as he took it in.

"I've never been here," he confessed.

"I suspected. And I thought this might make a nice end to a stressful afternoon."

"Thanks," he said, then was caught up in the view again.

In a little while, I found a wide spot across the road, and pulled the Jimmy over, making a K-point turnaround and turning the car off. The spectacle of the canyon loomed ahead of us. "Hmm. It seems we're out of gas," I grinned.

"Izzat so," Craig asked. "Lemme guess: the only thing that will get it going again is if we make out?"

"Something like that." I got out, and opened the back door, fishing out the cooler. "Come on."

Getting Craig on top of the Jimmy without aggravating his injuries was not the easiest task, but before long we were settled in to a pair of cloth camp chairs that I kept rolled up under the front seat, staring at the amazing view. As I settled into my chair, I entwined my tail around his.

"This is awesome! How have I never been here," Craig asked.

"You'd be surprised how many locals have never set foot inside the park boundaries," I lamented. "And most of those that do go down to the main entrance on the south side of the park. Which is really fine by me, because otherwise, there'd be no room to move in here. And definitely no privacy to share an intimate moment." I leaned over and kissed Craig tenderly, taking my time, and breaking it off only when we heard a car coming around the corner.

"You won't hear me complaining," the fox answered. I could feel his tail twitching against mine, trying to wag. The car was past and we kissed again for a time, until we heard another. This turned out to be a chain, so we settled to talking for a while. The shadow of the canyon was touching the road by time I parked, but as we sat, the sun got low enough that the cliffs ahead were now a brilliant vermillion. Craig was completely absorbed by the view once more, until I reached down to the hood and retrieved the cooler. Opening it, I handed him a soda and a sandwich, then got mine out. It was fun watching him eat without actually looking at the sandwich. And even more fun when he spotted an eagle flying about the cliffs. I climbed down and got out a pair of field binoculars, so we could see it better. Settling back in my chair, we toasted The Dogs, for giving us the excuse to stop in Kolob Canyon, and I produced some not-quite-too-soft ice cream bars that I had packed in among the bloo-ice blocks in the bottom.

"I hope the Doctor declares you fit for regular duty again, soon," I said.

"Tired of doing all the hard work," he grinned.

"No, even better. I've been backpacking in The Park every summer since I was in fifth grade," I explained. "And I would love to bring you with me this year," I explained.

"Oh?"

"It's not a long trek, just a day in, a day of exploring short trails around camp, and a day back out. But if you've got a bad rib, the frame pack won't do you any good. And you certainly can't go rock hopping!"

"That sounds awesome. Yes, I'll do everything I can to heal as quickly as possible!"

"You'd better!"

"When do you plan to go?"

"Late August," I explained, "about a week before going back to Lincoln. It's hot as heck, but that keeps the number of yokels down. The people you meet in the back country then are serious about the wild, and much nicer to be around."

"I can dig that." He paused... "Wait, what are you _doing_with these serious backpackers?"

Catching his joke, I laughed loudly enough that it echoed across the canyon. "You'll just have to wait and see!"

"You know, I think kisses would help heal the wound," he was grinning again. This fox was nearly as devious as me!

"Yes, but they are usually on the injury," I softly touched his broken rib with my paw, "not..." I kissed him softly, "on..." and again "the lips..." and again.

"I'll..." he answered between kisses, "make do." More kisses. And eventually, long, slow kisses. This time, we didn't bother to break apart for the cars heading back down to the gate. One driver even honked his horn at us, the echo sliding along with the car as it zipped around the next curve.

"Dang," I said.

"What?"

"Well, they close the gates at official sundown, which will be arriving here, soon. We'd best get moving." Night was even enshrouding the monolithic cliffs ahead in shadows." Carefully clambering down with my injured mate, we got back inside the car, secured our gear, and headed back to St. George.